Colorado Physician Ebook Continuing Education

Chronic pain is secondary when it may, at least initially, be a symptom of an underlying disease. A diagnosis may be made independent of biological or psychological contributors, unless another diagnosis better fits the symptoms. The six subgroups of chronic secondary pain are: ● Chronic posttraumatic and postsurgical pain. ● Chronic secondary headache and orofacial pain. ● Chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain. Chronic neuropathic pain is further subdivided by whether its origin is peripheral or central. 26 Peripheral neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the peripheral somatosensory nervous system and includes: 26 ● Trigeminal neuralgia, which is an orofacial pain condition of the trigeminal nerve with shooting, stabbing, or electric-shock-like pain that starts and ceases abruptly, and is triggered by innocuous stimuli. ● Chronic neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve ● Chronic cancer-related pain. ● Chronic neuropathic pain. ● Chronic secondary visceral pain. injury which is caused by a peripheral nerve lesion with history of nerve trauma, pain onset in temporal relation to the trauma, and pain distribution within the innervation territory. ● Painful polyneuropathy, which is caused by metabolic, autoimmune, familial, or infectious diseases, exposure to environmental or occupational toxins, or treatment with a neurotoxic drug (as in cancer treatment) or can be of unknown etiology. ● Postherpetic neuralgia, which is pain persisting for more than three months after the onset or healing of herpes zoster. ● Painful radiculopathy, which stems from a lesion or disease involving the cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine, or sacral nerve roots, commonly caused by degenerative spinal changes but also by numerous other injuries, infections, surgeries, procedures, or diseases. ● Other, not covered by the foregoing codes, which includes carpal tunnel syndrome and disorders for which information is still insufficient to assign a precise diagnosis. The multimodal, multidisciplinary treatment approach is recognized as optimal for pain care; nevertheless, barriers to accessing this type of care for patients are numerous and entrenched in the healthcare delivery system. It should be fully recognized that HCPs are asked to provide optimal pain care and lessen the risks from opioids in an environment that frequently provides inadequate support for practitioners and scant access for patients. A task force of healthcare associations convened by the American Medical Association to study and make recommendations to improve patient pain care described evidence-based care as “ensuring patients have access to the right

Central neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the central somatosensory nervous system, and the pain may be spontaneous or evoked. 26 Central neuropathic pain conditions include: 26 ● Chronic central neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury. ● Chronic central neuropathic pain associated with brain injury. ● Chronic central post-stroke pain. ● Chronic central neuropathic pain caused by MS. ● Other, specified and unspecified. Conditions may be referenced under more than one category as with chronic painful chemotherapy- induced polyneuropathy, classed as cancer-related pain (by etiology) and also as neuropathic pain (by nature). Although it is clinically useful to speak of chronic pain, it is important to remember that pain is a dynamic experience whose onset, maintenance, and exacerbation are not confined to set temporal categories. 28 Thus, patients who experience significant pain that lasts beyond typical healing periods or the three-month diagnostic period for chronic pain may improve with conservative measures. Conversely, some types of neuropathic pain or sudden onset pain from injury or disease does not require three months before treating the condition as chronic as the pain is likely to persist or recur indefinitely. 26 Because pain can be both a symptom and a disease, an accurate diagnosis is vital to treating the biologic source of pain when it is known and to expediting timely management of pain of uncertain origin. 28 All subtypes of chronic pain should be understood to have multiple biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the individual’s pain experience, in keeping with the biopsychosocial framework. Self-Assessment Question 2 Which factors influence pain according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)? Select all that apply. a. Biological. treatment at the right time without administrative barriers or delay.” 29 Insurance barriers to providing optimal patient care are present in the policies of public and private payers and pharmacy chains as well as pharmacy benefits managers. These barriers include delays and denials from prior authorization, step therapy, treatment quantity limits, high cost-sharing, coverage limits and restrictive access for nonopioid and nonpharmacologic treatments for pain, and strict opioid limits enforced without regard to individual patient need. 29

b. Physiological. c. Psychological. d. Social factors. BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE PAIN CARE

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Book Code: MDCO1025

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